Harare City loses nearly US$32m to fraudsters

Former Harare City treasurer and lawyer Misheck Mubvumbi has been dragged to the courts By Acting Harare City Town Clerk Mrs Josephine Ncube together with 3 Harare City Councillors and one former councillor on allegations of prejudicing the city of US$18 million in a tender scandal.

Mubvumbi of J Mambara and Partners Legal Practitioners who was formerly employed as the Harare City treasurer, Kuwadzana Ward 38 Councillor Wilton Jangazi who was a former procurement board member, Kuwadzana Ward 37 Councillor and a member of a procurement board Urayayi Mangwiro, former Avondale Ward 7 Councillor Masiye Kapare and Ward 5 Councillor Paula Macharangwanda appeared before Harare Magistrate Barbra Chimbodza charged with criminal abuse of office.

State prosecutor, Sebastian Mutizirwa told the court that the 5 working in cahoots sometime in 2010 circumvented council tender procedures in order to smuggle in an unregistered company for the award of a contract to rehabilitate Firle Sewage Works.

The accused allegedly flouted laid down council procedures leading to the illegal award of the contract to Energy Resources Africa Consortium (ERAC). They bypassed the tender subcommittee and came up with an un-priced bill of quantities.

Thereafter former Harare City Town Clerk Tendai Mahachi, Simon Takawira Muserere and Christopher Zvobgo allegedly acting in agreement with the 5 accused persons used a selective tender process and corruptly handpicked companies which had no capacity to rehabilitate the sewage works.

On tender opening day, all the accused persons with the full knowledge that ERAC had no capacity and was unregistered, circumvented the tender verification team and awarded the tender to the tune of US$13.8 million.

In the second count on the 22nd of March 2011, the accused acting in common purpose and using the same modus operandi allegedly corruptly awarded the tender for the rehabilitation of Firle and Crowborough Sewage Works to Sidal Engineering Private Limited without following council procedures.

The 5 were granted US$400 bail each, ordered to reside at their given addresses and to report once every Friday at CID Commercial Crimes Department and to surrender their passports.